City Safe Urban System
LMD’s fleet includes the City Safe, the first vacuum excavator designed specifically for use in towns and cities. The City Safe incorporates features that improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and the driver themselves. These include the Direct Vision cab with panoramic glazing, low entry and exiting, and image and sensor-based safety assistance.
You can read more about the City Safe by clicking here.
Right tip
Right-tip is the default on standard vacuum systems. It enables the operator to discharge the excavated load into a skip or similar located to the right of the vacuum excavator.
Left tip
Left-tip is often specified for highway works where excavated materials are tipped onto the hard shoulder or kerbside. This minimises the excavation footprint and reduces traffic disruption and increasing production.
High tip
High-tip vehicles are able to discharge excavated material straight into, for example, an eight-wheel tipper truck. Used in this way, high-tip enables the vacuum excavator to optimise productivity on site.
Power arm
All LMD vacuum excavators have hydraulically-assisted hose arms. Standard power arms, often referred to as ‘floppies’, are limited to ‘in-out’ and ‘left-right’ movement. The operator manually ‘controls’ or ‘locates’ the end of the hose in the excavation.
A power arm can be controlled remotely in every plane by the operator, right down to the end of the hose.
Height and slew restrictors
When working alongside live traffic, or under overhead cables, it is best practice to ensure the vacuum excavator’s hydraulic arm is restricted to ensure health and safety on site. LMD is able to provide vacuum excavators equipped with height and slew restrictors
Hydrostatic power systems
Hydrostatic power systems enable the operator to slowly move the vacuum excavator forwards and backwards without being in the cab. This ensures continuous excavation can be maintained. Hydrostatic power systems are often specified on, for example, highways projects where excavations can extend for several miles.
Stainless steel storage tanks
Vacuum excavators are ideally suited for work on contaminated land. Due to the toxic nature of excavated material on some contaminated sites, LMD has excavators equipped with stainless steel storage tanks.
Triple fan
Triple fan machines are the most powerful in the LMD fleet.
Tracked
LMD has two tracked vacuum excavation units. Tracked units are used when site access is limited and where ground conditions are unsuitable for standard vehicles.
Master and slave
LMD has pioneered the use of a triple fan vacuum excavator working in tandem with a ‘slave’ tracked unit. This combination extends the maximum reach, i.e. the distance from the excavation to the vacuum system, to 200m.
Wet excavation
The Vac-Tron wet excavation system is used for ground investigations and coring. It is also ideal for work in petrol forecourts and chemical plants.